Dirty Jobs

This week Mike Rowe worked as a wine barrel maker and a mule logger. As a wine barrel maker he showed the intricate process of putting together wine barrels. He is able to demonstrate just how much work and effort goes into the barrel making process. This gave me a whole new perspective and respect for people in this profession. I was under the impression that these barrels were assembled by a machine. They are in fact put together by hand using a special type of wood. All of the barrels are also burned on the inside to prevent the wine from touching raw wood. This helps to preserve the flavor of the wine.
As a mule logger mike cut down overgrown trees to make room for new trees. They then cut the trees into sections and use mules to pull the sections out of the woods. I didn't know that mules were still used in the logging business. It is amazing that all of the technology that we have today cannot replace mother nature. The mules are an essential part of the logging process because they are strong, cheap to take care of, and easy to maneuver. I feel that no matter how much we advance technologically, some things will always be done the same as they were decades ago.

Weasel Words

In this section of reading the author discusses weasel words. Weasel words are words used in advertising that have the opposite or no meaning at all. The name for these words comes from the way weasels puncture an egg of another animal and suck out the insides, which leaves the shell hallow. These words can be found in ads because there are government regulations prohibiting false advertisements. These words allow the consumer to fill in the blank areas in an ad to represent what the manufacturer is trying to get across.
I never realized how these words were used to attract the consumers. I also filled in the blank areas of ads and never realized just how meaningless most advertisements are. Many words such as help, virtually, new, and improved are all words manufacturers will use to sell their products. When reading an ad, these words mean absolutely nothing but make the consumer think they are selling the best product on the market. Now when I look at an advertisement I will be able to see what the ad is actually saying and not what the manufacturer wants me to think.

"Sequential Art: 'Closure' and 'Art'"

In this section of reading the author discusses the blank areas in between comics. These areas are used as closure. This is very true because this leaves out some of the details of the comic so that the reader is able to use their imagination. This allows the reader to feel as though they are part of the writing of the comic and partially responsible for what happens to the different characters.
The author also discusses art. Anything a person does can be considered a type of art. This may include drawing in the dirt, beating two sticks on the ground, singing, dancing, etc. This shows that all humans are artistic creatures even if their drawings aren't hanging in a museum or they don't have a platinum album. The author also discusses that art can be responsible for many simple and complex discoveries, such as fire.

Dirty Jobs

Yesterday I was watching my favorite show, Dirty Jobs. Mike Rowe was cutting dead salmon in half with a machete to help count how many fish had died while moving up the river to spawn. This is important because it shows how man-made objects and contaminants affect the salmon spawning patterns. To me it seemed kind of wierd to cut an dead salmon in half but it was a good way to identify which salmon they had already counted. This also kept food for the micro-organisms in the river to ensure a healthy stream.
The next task Mike undertook was working on a cow farm. This farm made biodegradable flower pots out of cow dung. They also used the gas from the cow dung to heat and light there house and barn. He trapped the methane gas released from the dung under a tarp and sent it up to his house to be burned as an energy source. I thought this was really disgusting but a very effecient use of a product that is usually discarded. It is a product that is readily available to the farmer and he does an excellent job of harnessing his resources to provide cheap energy for his family. He is also able to provide flower pots that are a good source of fertilizer and friendely to the environment. Even though I feel this is a disgusting way to make a living, I think he is very creative thinker and a smart entrepernuer.